doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com Do you really want to know?

Do you really want to know?
While working on research I sometime find out more than I think readers want or need to know about the people I write about. I learned about the last minutes of Tom Shelhamer in a phone conversation. I have a two page single spaced letter from Alvin Lindens brother-law telling about the last hours of Linden’s life and how he found him on the shop floor. One gunmaker had a string of wives and a many children. More than one had a ongoing battle with the bottle.
For the most part I leave this kind of information out but after a few folks heard about the Linden info they all wanted copies. If a gunmaker dies early in life I try to include the reason. Where does historical information stop and bad taste begin? It’s become obvious to me that some people what to know more than I have been comfortable in providing. I made a copy of an A.O. Niedner taped interview available to the ASSRA, he had some strong feeling about another famous gunsmith a held back nothing, If it ever is transcribed I would be interest to see if it gets edited.
My outlook has been don’t write anything about someone I would not want written about myself. What say you?

Michael;
Seems like the most talented people always have their vices and demons. Writers, artists, craftsmen etc. Never have claimed to be any of the above, but Lord knows I have plenty of my own.
Everyone I have ever known who was a master at what they did, had one or most of the qualities you mention..... Being opinionated, a weakness for women and pulling a cork, etc. etc.
I say this with no disrespect, as these were people whom I respected and even idolized (many I still do). Always figured that guys who can maintain that level of concentration and dicipline need to "let the badger loose" more often than most....
I for one would love to read about what these legends were really like, and I bet they would all laugh like hell it you were to write about it.
Respectfully;
Kraft

i am interested in there work.training,shop equipment, where a style came from, big influence on the guns they made.not so much the personal life.except j.v. Howe whats up with this guy never stayed anywhere very long.mc

Michael, you probably already know that I try to live my life by The Golden Rule. At the same time, however, the truth is hardly ever A Bad Thing, really. There are things I've done that would be awkward or embarassing if told while I was still alive and if presented in an adversarial manner, but I hardly think that you, Michael, would exhibit such crudity. IMO it would be interesting for the rest of us to be told a little more about the folks who have brought us all so much artistic accomplishment to admire, while at the same time making no attempt either to sensationalize or to minimize their behavior. A perfect example in my mind is Harry Pope, I'd absolutely love to hear more about his rudeness and estrangement from some of his family. Another famous curmudgeon and supposed heavy toper was James V. Howe who apparently couldn't get along with anyone for very long but who IMO produced some of the best gunsmithing and gunsmithing writing ever done before WW2. Further insights into these gunsmiths' characters and histories via authors' accounts of their behaviors is IMO quite appropriate if given no more space than any other non-firearms-related facts told about their lives. JMOFWIW, and I'm really looking forward to your next compilation!
Best, Joe

I live in a land where everyone speaks no evil in public (but plenty in private). Hence, one gets no idea of the context of a situation. I don't have much truck with that, and I fall in Joe's camp that way (and a bunch of others).

To simply say, so and so succumbed early due to the perils of the bottle or whatever is fine. No need to embellish it a whole bunch, but call it like it is. If so and so hates so and so, and somehow that is relevant, and it sounds like it is, then saying so simply and moving on is quite reasonable. To edit it out is dishonest. Dwelling on trash talk like, for instance, modern sports news does today, is stupid and an insult to the readers. But knowing the basic lay of the land is probably informative relative to how a guy does his work and - for that matter - doesn't do his work.

In the 10 yrs or so that I have been paying closer attention it seems to me that gunsmiths have a higher rate of anti-social issues than some other people grouped by profession. I do not know if that is true, but the problems that I, and others, have encountered are seemingly as endless as they are unnecessary. Makes me wonder why, or if it is really the case, but so be it. Without data, we can never even begin to guess.

There are a lot of biographies out there, and that is effectively what you are talking about. Look at the best biographers and the best biographies of well know people. They all include the bad with the good but without titillation or embellishment. Just enough to let us know who the person was and what his or her life might have been like. That's all you can hope for in a good biography.

Brent

It is all a part of appreciating what these people accomplished. The trials and tribulations that they worked through to do the work that they did only enhances the enjoyment we get from collecting their work. I think anything you did would be in good taste. You have had the oppertunity, through your hard work and dedication, to be exposed to more knowledge about these old master than most of us will ever dream of. You have no obligation to share any of this knowledge with any of us, but we are all forever grateful that you have chosen to do so.

John

PS, I would love to know any Shelhamer details.

The firearms these men made are wonderful objects of art and beautifully functional tools. However many factory rifles today are handsome, some as handsome as the old master's. The difference is the history. Someone sweated over the inletting and getting the lines of the butt and forearm just right and each rifle is unique, often as unique and idiosyncratic as the men that made them. I want to know these men better. We all have our warts. I have friends with problems with alcohol, relationships, money, etc. But they are still friends. I feel the same about these gunsmiths. I agree with J. D., Brent, gasgunner and others and trust your instincts in the matter.

Jerry Liles

From what I've seen of genius level coworkers, the line between genius and madness is sometimes razor thin. I think that for those struggling to walk that line, that knowing they are not alone in their struggles helps. Write as much as you think appropriate, we will trust in your judgment.

I don't have the knowledge to engage in the larger issues here. But one thing I have long wondered about is if there is a correlation between the almost standard-issue "touchiness" of old-time gunsmiths and hearing loss.

Untreated hearing loss often causes emotional problems, especially in us silverbacks who are touchy and somewhat isolated anyway, and I wonder if it sometimes led to talented guys who constitutionally didn't suffer fools gladly getting to the point where they could suffer almost nobody gladly?

Just a thought from someone who has been around a while but has no other related expertise (But I do remember when we would all shoot a 4 3/4" .32-20 Colt or a 3 5/8" 7.65mm Luger all afternoon with no ear protection....not to mention .220 Swifts.).

Mr. Petrov - I check in here every day, but don't recall ever posting - so I'll thank you for your incredible dedication as historian of an era. On the topic of "details", I think it's best to publish them, so each of us can decide if we want to know, and read if we so choose. Unlike the AR responders, the folks here seem to recognize the distinction between gossip and history. The men you write about are not mere gunmakers, they're artistic pioneers in the field, and details count. To understand van Gogh, and his art, without recognizing his mental illness [the "ear story"] would be impossible! Often these men seemed to sacrifice a "normal life" to achieve what they did, and recognizing that is part of recognizing their accomplishments.